And he sells the gag card on his website as well

Isn't that the Bluemen soundtrack?

The benefit of card to sealed envelope is that it seems more real world. It's normal to have an envelope in your jacket pocket. OTOH, who (besides a magician with one or two hundered bucks to spare) would have an enveloped inside a wallet? (And yes, I realize that it makes the effect seem that much more impossible.)

The down side is that the envelope might sit too low in your pocket, making it difficult to insert the card.

Personally, and speaking as someone with a number of card to wallet wallets, I will keep my envelopes where they belong, in my wallet.

Hi Aussiemagic,

Yes it is!

Best,
Russ

that's exactly why I'm so interested in this. I really want to do a strong Card to Impossible Location like the card to Envelope/Wallet. The problem is I'm really young and I would just look ridiculous pulling out a wallet like that, this would look so much more natural.

I have had no problem loading the card in the envelope.

Just finished watching this Dvd. Really excellent. I like almost everything about it, but I really love Martin's ties. Man, that guy is a sharp dresser.

I played with It's a Steal today and had a lot of fun with it as an opener, just so simple that it made it fun.

Is Martin Sanderson's Simplex Signed Card in Sealed Envelope very different from Martin's signed card in a sealed envelope inside a wallet in his Ambitious Four Phase? I'm assuming that he still uses a Jerry O'Connell's wallet??

The Card To Envelope does not use a wallet so it is different.

I wanted to make a comment about his service. I needed to learn Storm Force 7 for a customer appreciation day I had at short notice. I emailed him after I bought the dvd and he sent it super fast. It did not get here in time so he then made sure I knew how to perform it. I won't say what he did because it would be unfair to him. I'm concerned other people might expect him to do the same thing. Let's just say he went way above and beyond good customer service and made sure I knew how to do the effect. He's also very quick with answering e mails. His customer service gets a 10/10.

Here are my thoughts on the DVD

Effects:

It’s a Steal - Nothing new.

Boxing - I didn't find it very entertaining.

Simplex Signed Aces to Pocket - Another look at 4 signed cards to different pockets. Not bad. Steve Bedwell has a much niftier version on his No M.D. Required video.

The Impromptu Chop Cup - Weak routine but gives thoughts if you had to do something completely impormptu. Not a chop cup routine, either. A one-phase, one cup routine. Something you might do at a bar when unprepared. You'd never walk around doing this routine. You'd be more prepared and have a better routine.

Simplex Signed Card in Sealed Envelope - Standard gag card (see R.Paul Wilson Restaruant Act video from years ago) as an excuse to go to your pocket. Actually, I use the same gag card in my card-to-sealed-envelope-in-zippered-wallet routine.
He just doesn't use a wallet. No problem with that. One tip I'll add that he did not is that you could print your address and an image of a cancelled stamp on the envelope so the spectator has your contact info on the envelope. That's what I do to my envelopes. I also use non-lick envelopes as well. Good idea there.

Ring to envelope - I liked the idea for the guide. Here he did make comments about marketing info on the money envelope. No real routine. Just a place to put a ring after your real routine. I repeat. There is NO routine except an explaination of how he might vanish the ring.

Trade Show SF7 or Storm Force 7 - The trick has some good marketing ideas. I didn't find it very entertaining. I just did a trade how a few weeks ago for 3 days and I don't feel like "darn, I wish I'd known about this effect before my tradeshow". It does give food for thought about how to tailor effects to your client. That's worth more than the effect itself, IMO.

Corporate Funnies (squeak and protective cover)
2 gags to consider adding. You be the judge.

The Business Section:
The business section is pretty good. Especially for a new magician wanting to break thru into bigger and better engagements. I liked it.

The business section was much better than the tricks section.

Wow. After nothing but raves, that was pretty eye opening. I mean, I would buy this more for the business section anyway but it sounds like the effects are just okay.

I just bought this DVD, and at $80 Canadian, it is the most expensive single DVD I have bought. My basic philosophy is that if one effect goes into your standard repertoire, then it is easily worth the price. Alternatively, if the DVD provides one with high quality knowledge or innovative thinking, then it may also justify the expense.

The DVD basically promised strong effects and solid marketing and performance tips from a working pro. Easily worth $80 right?

Maybe...

After all the positive reviews, I was maybe expecting a little more than I got.

Mr. Sanderson does show some clever thinking in some of his effects, particularly in the card to sealed envelope. His SF7 effect is also nice too. Having said that, I find these effects to be "good", but not absolutely killer. They are not running my main material out the door. So the DVD fails for me on my first criterion.

The "business" section was extremely disappointing to me. A significant amount of time was spent on the idea of acting like you are not available (when you really are) so that you can put pressure on the person who is calling to book you. And then once they are sold on you, to attempt to upsell them.

The best part of of the business section was his ideas on approaching tables and creating space for yourself. That is valuable information because it is not necessarily obvious to everyone how to go about that in a respectful and professional way. If the DVD had more good stuff that is one or two steps above the obvious, then it would have easily passed the second criterion on innovative thinking and quality information. One of the reasons why I bought the DVD is that I expected a highly successful full-timer to part with at least a few pieces of information that only a full-timer would know.

So, for me, the DVD failed on two fronts. 1)The effects while good, are not forcing their way into my repertoire. 2)The information given was really not much to speak of.

In terms of value, this is where the DVD fails the most. I think that I would more enthusiastic and less critical about the DVD if it had been closer to $50. To compare dollar for dollar value, Barrie Richardson's books Theatre of the Mind and Act II sell for about $80...ouch.

My total rating for the DVD is 6/10. 7/10 for what is there, and minus a point for the high cost.

One more thing to consider is that the following routines:

card to envelope
ring to envelope
chop cup

are not even routines.

well, the chop cup is but not really as it's more of a
"here's something you can do in an emergency", which I DO appreciate.
Believe me. I might actaully do this some time for fun but please don't call it
a future classic. for goodness sake. it is essentially a dinner table trick,
and a darn good one for impromptu. it would never replace a pro's chop cup routine.
never.

sanderson is great at marketing himself on the DVD and perhaps
some of the raves are from how great he says his stuff is. I was not convinced.

This is a great dvd from the ultimate showman
I liked the section about lies you can tell to get more bookings
also the tricks are a1 tip top
I hope there are more releases from martin sanderson and russ stevens magic emporium

There seems to be a mixed bag of reviews here, which one do I go with,are the good ones some of martins friends ?
I wasnt impressed with the first of his dvds but I must admit that this reads well.i thought it might have a good ring in envelope effect but you say its only an idea ?
£25.00 is a lot for a dvd these days,help it takes me a lot of time to save that much.

Go with Frank Starsini. He knows good material form weak ones.

Easy to separate the working pros from the amateurs by reading this thread, that's all I have to say.